A Medicine for Melancholy
by Lunatic Wisdom
Summary: Loki never did like the idea of having a pupil and this one was no exception.


**_A Medicine for Melancholy_**

_**By:** Gracy Vengeance_

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Thor_, it's characters or even their plot. They all belong to their respective owners as do my original characters.

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><p>Loki enjoyed watching her become frustrated over his "absurd orders", as quoted from her sharp whispers. The way her facial expressions expressed her immense irritation was a great source of amusement to him; only because he found absolute joy watching others struggle like a worm on a hook. It was no wonder why he was respected as the God of Mischief and he made sure he measured up to that title.<p>

Case in point, the task he presented for her was to place his highly volatile substances in order from exceedingly explosive to those insipid, stable contents he rarely used. Truth be told, they were impossible to distinguish without putting them through a series of tests. However, the main purpose of this trivial request? For her to admit her defeat and to assert authority over the new apprentice; he playfully thought of this as an icebreaker-in a fiendish way.

Loki expected her to know remotely about potions, otherwise this would be a complete waste of his time. To be an apprentice under him, one must be knowledgeable in the art of anything sorcery. After all, he had a reputation to keep as one of the most powerful sorcerers in all of Asgard.

He sat there, watching her every move like a lion stalking its prey. With the way she paced back and forth, studying the labels and comparing them amongst the others, Loki smirked in triumph. _Like breaking a horse._

With a turn of her head, the young woman snuck a peek at him but he caught her stare that very instant. She flushed as a smirk tugged on the corner of his lips and she returned to mull over this tedious test.

He propped his feet on an ottoman and clasped his fingers, deep in his thoughts. Curse his brother for nominating him to be a tutor. At that very thought, his smirk quickly turned into a scowl. The very word was gut-retching and a new low, even for him-a master of sorcery. To Loki, the whole idea of teacher and apprentice felt like babysitting; just mouthing out orders and all the other could do was follow them without protest. Despite that somewhat delightful idea, Loki couldn't bring himself to completely grasp the concept of him sitting someone, let alone an apprentice.

In fact, there was a phrase that Thor gave to the young woman. The words, however, came up short in Loki's mind-it had something to do about medicine and him being cured of something. Thor thought this maiden would help him in some way as she was tied in with that blasted phrase; that one that still refused to surface in his mind.

Loki couldn't help but laugh at himself, frustrated with all the events that had transpired, especially with what his brother said about this nuisance being a help to him. _How_ dare _he insult me. Me, the God of Mischief, thinking I need some foolish Asgardian woman for help._ In a fit of pique, he released his fingers from their entanglement and began to tap them vexedly against the armrest of his chair. _It would be a cold day in Hel before that will ever happen._

The only thing that would bring him slight gaiety was this young woman's exasperation from this futile undertaking. It was only a matter of time until she admitted defeat. He longed to hear the very words that would compel her submit herself to him completely.

His silent musing was interrupted by the muffled clearing of a throat. He looked up and met her stare.

"_My lord_," she spoke, like it was poison in her mouth. _Right on time!_ A dark smile was beginning to form on his lips, bringing the young woman to shudder once from trepidation.

"Speak." He motioned with the grace of a hand for her to continue. He gave her another of his impish smiles and enjoyed the sight of her fighting to control her increasing displeasure.

She took a deep breath and began to explain. As she spoke, Loki gradually tuned her out and returned to his reverie; the attempts at recovering the phrase still lingered in his head. Beyond everything, he had much better things to do than listen to some mockery try to squirm her way out of ensnarement, like a rodent caught in a trap.

It was like him-to over think until he satisfied his curiosity; a quality he found as a double-edged sword. The more he thought, the more he would grow aggravated. The less he thought, however, the more the interest would grow and eventually preoccupy his every thought until it was appeased. It was his nature to exploit a subject, not ceasing until every stone was unturned.

With that, he decided to leave the pestering alone and just condemn himself to his new apprentice and her prattling.

"There is no way for me to examine these ingredients without having to test them. Doing so, will probably end up disastrous," she commented in a quiet, but solemn tone.

_What a bore this child is._ He straightened himself in his seat as she continued to speak. _Although, she was quite perceptive with the true nature of this test and the very thought somewhat intrigues me_. It wasn't exactly what he had expected but he was curious as to what else she had to say, seeing as she wasn't finished.

"All I want is to just perfect my mastery on potion making and I'll be on my way, leaving you to do whatever it is that you do." She bit her lower lip afterwards, possibly regretting that final arrogant remark, but she stood her ground. "Just please give me an answer and I'll seek the proper instruction elsewhere."

A tug on the corner of his lips brought an ominous smile on Loki's face._ Very intriguing after all!_ There was something about her attitude that made her stand out from the previous applicants. While most had their composure crumple from the immense pressure of being so near a prince of Asgard, she was one of the very few to speak their mind, a trait that rarely came along. Most of the time, it was lovesick simpletons who desired coaching in various areas-the very thought sickened him to the deepest pit of his stomach.

Nonetheless, it wasn't long until the feeling died down did he grow tired of her presence and decided it was time to send her away. He had important matters to attend to, such as conjuring pranks for a certain individual and devising more schemes against that said individual.

With a flip of his wrist, he gestured the young maid to take her leave. "You are free to go," he commanded, "I shall inform Uundis of my decision by tomorrow."

Looking completely puzzled, as if she was expecting an immediate answer, the young woman gave a quick curtsy and thanked him for this opportunity. He gave her a short nod and she left the room in a hurry, not once pausing to look at him.

Loki stood up from his seat and walked to his windows, which stretched from the floor up to the ceiling. The sun was beginning to set and it was drawing close to evening. He crossed his arms and continued to stare at the tranquil scenery outside. Very seldom did he ever feel at peace and whenever he did, it was quickly ruined.

This time was no exception.

The image of his brother slowly wormed its way into his thoughts and soon every fiber in his being yearned to make Thor pay for his imbecilic act of giving him an apprentice. He wasn't going to let his older brother off this easily.

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><p>"Brother! You have finally returned to the realm from the recesses of your chambers!" Thor announced as he was walking down the hallway to Loki's direction. "Come, let us go to supper! Father and Mother wait for us!"<p>

As he closed the doors to his bedchambers, an eyebrow rose on Loki's face as he ignored that first comment. It was the usual thing to do when it came to whatever came out of Thor's mouth that wasn't of importance.

"For your information _brother_, I spent a good while with that woman you requested for me to tutor. I was testing her varying degrees of _competence_." Loki took his place beside Thor and together, they walked down the hallway.

Several minutes passed without an exchange of words and Loki relished in that glorious silence. It provided him enough time to think of a way to get back at his brother. Although Thor was always quick to act and rarely took the time to think, he was grown quite keen when it came to his pranks. It was probably because Thor was one of his popular targets during their childhood.

The God of Thunder eyed his younger brother carefully as the younger sibling let out a short laugh. From his peripheral vision, Loki could see the faintest hint of a smile. "What amuses you Thor?" he asked, still keeping his view in front.

"Nothing," he replied with a hearty chuckle, "I've never seen you so enthusiastic over a new apprentice. Surely she must have left an impression on you." He gave his brother a wink, indicating a hidden meaning in his words.

Loki ignored his brother's intentions. "Wrong. I'm only doing this because Father has approached me several times to take up an apprentice. Unlike _you_, I put much thought into things like this instead of rushing headstrong."

"I _do_ take the time to think; it just so happens to be very quick," Thor quickly defended, "I don't need to sit out half a battle just to think about how to take out a single enemy."

"Half a battle? I plan strategic approaches to gain the upper hand." Both men paused before the doors of the dining hall and Loki couldn't help but get the last word in. "After all, isn't that is how I bested you during our friendly spar several days ago?"

Thor was suddenly silent and Loki couldn't help but feel smug after this win. He enjoyed overpowering his brother with logic, something that happened very often.

"You got me there Brother!" He clapped his hand on Loki's back and the younger sibling couldn't help but stumble a little forward. "That is why that maiden could be a medicine for your melancholy. You need to loosen up! You take everything too seriously."

Loki's brows lifted in surprise. "What do you mean by that?" _There! That phrase! _

Thor grinned. "You'll just have to wait and see. You might even experience it for yourself!" With that, he pushed open the doors of the dining hall and greeted everyone in attendance as he entered.

Loki pursed his lips and followed his brother. That was enough to fuel his desire to get back at his brother with another of his playful tricks.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>Ehhh...I'm not pleased with the ending. I wanted to add more to their little bickering but I felt it was beginning to get OOC and opted not to include it. I might include it, all edited and whatnot, in the actual story that I'm writing. Yes, this is side-shot of the main thing that is coming. In fact, this is Loki's thoughts to one part of a chapter!

For the nature of the two brothers, I didn't want to make it all "OH! WE SO SERIOUS!" that the movie was gearing towards. I saw a GIF of the deleted scene with Thor and Loki receiving their helmets and they were just throwing jokes at each other, so I decided to incorporate it into this little side story. I mean, I'm sure these two punk on each other every now and just brush it off their shoulders at the end of the day.

So...give me your thoughts on this and please refrain from flaming. !

_**Please review if you have the time. Constructive criticism is enough to help me improve and flames will be used to fire up the grill for my pancakes :D **_


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